Apparatus for making concrete.



No.722,782. v v PATENTED MAR,17,1903.

0. R. WEAVER.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONCRETE.

nrmonxon FILED mm: s, 1902. y

10 MODEL. 2 sums-sum 1.

1m: uunms Pstzqs cu; wuwuma. WASHINGYOMYD. c.

No. 722,782. PATENTED MAR. 17,1903.

0. R. WEAVER.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONCRETE.

" APPLICATION rum) mm: 6, 1902.

N0 MODEL. 2 snare-sum 2.

STONE? $44 0 STON c:

772536363 CkarZesfiffaa el."

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO PETER O.

HAINS, JR.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING CONCRETE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 722,782, dated March17, 1903.

Application filed June 6, 1902. Serial No. 110,528. (No model.)

To aZZ whmn it 77I/Cl/y concern;

Be it known that 1, CHARLES R. WEAVER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invent- 5 edcertain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Making Concrete, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The invention to be hereinafter described relates to an apparatus formaking concrete, and is designed more especially as an improvement overthe apparatus described in Letters Patent No. 633,313, dated September19, 1899, wherein concrete is prepared or mixed in a suitable receptaclein such manner that by discharging the ingredients of the mixturethrough a narrow aperture from the bottom of the receptacle the thoroughmixing of the various materials will be efiected without the necessityof agitation by hand or by mechan- 2o ical means, thus facilitating andexpediting the preparation of concrete and atthe same time securing themost thorough. and perfect mixing of the ingredients possible.

In the present embodiment of my invention I have sought to improve andsimplify the construction set forth in the patenthereinbefore referredto, all as will be hereinafter described and then definitely pointed outin the claims. V j

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, parts being shown insection, of an apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. l is a detachedsectional View of the storage-bins and their supports, the latter beingbroken away. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the storagebin; and Fig. 3 is aplan view of the top hoppers, showing their relative arrangement.

In the drawings, A represents any usual or desired form ofsupporting-framework carrying a platform A" and provided withcrosspieces A upon which cross-pieces are suitably supported what I willterm mixinghoppers B B, said hoppers being sustained upon thecross-pieces A by any usual form of supporting devices, as the beams 12.These mixing-hoppers B B may be of any desired form in cross-section;but in the present illustration I have shown them as funnel-shaped,having a wide upper portion and a contracted 5o discharge-neck Inormally closed by a sliding door 11 mounted upon an arm b pivoted thehopper through the chute, as desired.

at the free end of said arm b resting upon a sustaining-yoke b wherebythe door 19 when under the discharge-mouth of the hopper will be held upclose against the same and prevent material from being dischargedtherefrom. It will be evident, of course, that the number of thesemixing-hoppers B B may be varied as desired; but I have found inpractice that the construction herein illustrated is well adapted forthe purpose in view.

Supported upon the top of the framing A, I provide a plurality of tophoppers 0, four being shown in the present form of my invention,arranged above the platform A and supported by any desirable form offramepieoes, as c c. The top hoppers O, as designated in Fig. 3, arearranged with their adj acent upper edges preferably in contact, andeach of said hoppers O is provided with a contracted discharge-chute, asG, the opening into which from each respective hopper is controlled by asuitable sliding door d,which, as shown in Figs. 3 and 1, is mountedupon an operating-arm d, pivoted at (Z and passes through a slot oropening in one side of the chutes O in a diagonal direction under theaction of the operating-arms. It will be understood, of course, that itis only necessary to provide a slot for the doors d in two sides of theupper part of the chutes O, the other sides thereof serving as anabutment against which the edges of the doors 01 may abut to efiectuallycut ofi the flow of material from 5 Mounted above the platform A, andpreferably upon .extensions A of the framing A, are the storage-bins,(designated as a whole bythe letter E and shown more clearly in Figs. 1and 2.) The storage-bins are for the 0 purpose of containing the stoneand sand which enters into the concrete mixture as a part of theingredients thereof. As set forth in Patent No. 633,313, hereinbeforereferred to, it is necessary in making concrete by this 5 form ofapparatus that the component parts of the concrete shall be arranged inlayers in the top binsthat is, each top bin should contain cement, sand,and stone of the desired proportions, arranged from the bottom of thehopper upward in the order named; and to secure the ready introductionof the sand receptacle E for sand comprises the side walls 6, suitablysecured within the central portion of the receptacle E The bottoms ofthe receptacles or inner and outer storagebins E E are provided withdischarge-openings F F, respectively, preferably arranged as shown inFig. 2-that is, in close proximity to each other and at the cornerportions of the inner receptacle or bin E. Mounted upon suitable pivotalsupportsfare the doors F formed in the present embodiment of myinvention as a plate,preferahly in circular form, said plate comprisingapproximately threequarters of a circle, the other approximate quarterof the circle being omitted from the plate, so that when the same isbrought below either of the openings F F in the bottoms of the innerorouter bins E IE it will permit material contained in said bin to bedischarged through the opening thereof, and when said circular plate isthus moved to discharge material from one bin it serves to close thedischarge-opening of the other bin, as will be evident, an operating-handlef being provided for the purpose of moving the door F upon itspivotal supportf. Thus it will be seen that when it is desired todischarge sand into any one of the top hoppers O the door Fimmediatelyabove said top hopper is moved to bring the opening of saiddoor into coincidence with the discharge-opening in the bottom of thehopper E E and when sufficient material has been discharged from one ofsaid hoppers into the top bin the door F is swung around to bring theopening thereof into coincidence with the discharge-opening of the otherbin, as is obvious.

In the present embodiment of my invention I have shown four top hoppersfor receiving material from the storage-bins, and I have arranged thestorage-bins in relation to said hoppers so that the discharge-doors 11"thereof may be disposed only directly above each top hopper; but it isevident that the number of top hoppers and the size, character, andgeneral form thereof and of the storagebin disposed above the same maybe varied within wide limits without departing from the spirit of myinvention, which contemplates the provis'ion of a simplified form ofstorage-bin so disposed above the top hoppers that the differentingredients to be fed to said hoppers may be discharged thereintoseparately as desired, and while in the device of Patent No. 633,313 areshown mixing or interrupting cones G below the top and subsequenthoppers, for the purposes of defleeting and mixing the material as itpasses from said hoppers, in thepresent form of my invention I have notdeemed such mixing or interrupting cones as necessary, but discharge thematerial from the top hoppers 0 directly into a hopper B, disposed belowthe same, the said hopper B being preferably formed of suitable size tocontain all the material that may be discharged thereinto from all ofthe tophoppers. It will be noticed also that the discharge-chutes 0 fromthe top hoppers O are inclined, so as to more accurately dischargematerial into the mixinghopper B. However, such inclined forms ofdischarge-chute may not in all cases be necessary, and my invention isnot limited thereto.

The operation of my-device may be briefly stated as follows: Each of thefour top hoppers, if four be the number employed in any particularconstruction of my invention, are charged in the desired proportion byfirst depositing therein the cement, which may readily be done by anattendant from the platform A. The doors F of the storage-bin E are thenmanipulated to allow the desired quantity of sand to be deposited uponthe top of the cement, and when sufficient sand has been placed in thetop hopper the door is swung around to deposit upon the sand the desiredquantity of stone, the amount of the cement, sand, and broken stonebeing gaged by any suitable marks upon the hopper. The desired quantityof water is'then sprayed or dashed over the top of the stone in thehoppers G, care being taken to equally distribute it, so as tothoroughly wet the stone and sand. The cement being in the form of animpalpable powder acts as a dam and remains dry, the top surface onlybecoming Wet. The bottom doors or gates of the top hoppers are thenopened,either simultaneously or in quick succession, whereupon thematerial in the top hoppers 0 passes through the dischargechutes G intothe mixing-hopper B, the material in its descent from the top hoppersbecoming thoroughly mixed, the material in the hoppers passingtherefrom'under much the same action as the sand in a sand-glass. Whenthe hopper B has thus received the material from the top hoppers, thedoor 6 thereof is opened, and the material may drop therefrom in thesame manner as from the top hoppers into another hopper B, or, ifdesired, directly to place or into a suitable carrier for transportingthe material to the place of use. It is thus seen that the concrete doesnot run continuously through the hoppers, but is dropped from one tierto another, the hopper last emptied being always ready to receive acharge from the one above, so that the process of mixing becomes one ofrapid succession of steps, the limit of its rapidity to be mixed beingdetermined by the speed of handling the ingredients.

ICC

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In an apparatus for mixing concrete, the combination of a pluralityof top hoppers to receive and hold material arranged in layers, each ofsaid top hoppers being provided with a discharge-opening, a storage-binarranged above the top hoppers and having a plurality of compartmentsfor holding diiferent materials, a discharge-opening for each compartment and means for discharging material from the compartments of thebin into any one of the plurality of top hoppers.

2. In an apparatus for mixing concrete, the combination of a pluralityof top hoppers to receive and hold material arranged in layers, each ofsaid top hoppers being provided with a discharge-opening, a storage-binarranged above the top hoppers and having an inner and outercompartment, said compartments each being provided with adischarge-opening, and a door common to a discharge-opening in the innerand outer compartments for successively discharging material from eachof said compartments.

3. In an apparatus for mixing concrete, the combination of a pluralityof top hoppers to receive and hold material arranged in layers,

each of said top hoppers being provided with a discharge-opening, astorage-bin arranged above the top hoppers and having an inner and anouter surrounding compartment, said compartments each being providedwith a plurality of discharge-openings, an opening of each compartmentbeing disposed above each of the top hoppers, and means for controllingthe discharge of material from said compartments into said top hoppers.

4. In an apparatus for mixing concrete, the combination of a pluralityof top hoppers to receive and hold material arranged in layers, each of,said top hoppers being provided with a discharge-opening, a storage-binarranged above the top hoppers and having an inner and an outersurrounding compartment, said compartments each being provided with aplurality of discharge-openings, an opening of each compartment beingdisposed above each of the top-hoppers, and a door common to adischarge-opening of the inner and outer compartments for successivelydischarging material from each of said compartments.

5. In an apparatus for mixing concrete, the combination of a pluralityof top hoppers to receive and hold material arranged in layers, each ofsaid top hoppers being provided with a discharge-opening, a storage-binarranged above the top hoppers and having an inner and an outersurrounding compartment, said.

compartments each being provided with a plurality of discharge-openings,an opening of 'each compartment being disposed above each of the tophoppers, and a door common to a discharge-opening of the inner and outercompartments, said door having a portion adapted to cover the opening ofboth of said compartments, and an aperture that may be brought intoregister with either of said openings as desired.

6. In an apparatus for mixing concrete, the combination of a pluralityof top hoppers to receive and hold material arranged in layers, each ofsaid top hoppers being provided with a discharge-opening, a storage-binarranged above the top hoppers and having an inner and an outersurrounding compartment, said compartments each being provided with a.

plurality of discharge-openings, an opening of each compartment beingdisposed above each of the top hoppers, and a door pivotally supportedbelow a discharge-opening of the inner and outer compartments and havinga portion adapted to cover both of said discharge-openings and anaperture that may be brought into register with either of saiddischarge-openings successively to discharge material first from one andthen from the other of said compartments into each of the plurality oftop hoppers.

7. A storage-bin for a concrete-mixer, comprising a plurality ofreceptacles for diflerent materials, a separate discharge-opening foreach of said receptacles, and a single door controlling thedischarge-opening from said several receptacles.

8. A storage-bin for a concrete-mixer, comprising an inner and an outerportion, an adjustable opening for each of said portions, saidadjustable openings being arranged adjacent each other, and a singledoor for controlling the discharge of material through each of saidadjacent discharge-openings.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES R. WEAVER.

Witnesses:

MALCOLM VARNELL, FRANK H. BAXTER.

